What a crazy week it has been. The weather has been beautiful, the golf course very busy, and the days are going by quickly. In the words of the great Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!”
We hosted 81 senior golfers on Monday. This was a very nice turnout for the Lakes area group. We fed them a light lunch at 11:00 which was followed by golf at noon. They were pleased with the meal I cooked and were very complimentary about the golf course. First day of the week in the books.
I have about six irrigation leaks that are wreaking havoc with my patience. Several have been repaired but there are still a few remaining. I have been able to irrigate the golf course on a nightly basis, however. Several of the problem areas are not on the main line so these areas are bypassed nightly. Early morning irrigation cycles has allowed me to keep the greens and tees satisfied with moisture.
The greens are really starting to come around. I was able to fertilize greens, with a granular 18-9-18 fertilizer mid morning Wednesday. This was a great application that is starting to create a very healthy green surface for the golfers. Very happy about that being completed. I followed the application with ten minutes of water on each green.
The dandelion population is out of control this year. I am sure I don’t need to mention that to anybody. I was able to spray for eight hours on Friday from early morning until early afternoon. I covered all the rough on the perimeter of the golf course that is bordering housing. These areas include from 14 green, clockwise around to twelve tees. Approximately 54 acres were treated. Believe me there is still a long way to go, but I will keep plugging away.
I met with Denny Stevenson mid week to discuss the tile issues on 16 green and 17 tee surrounds. After the locates were all complete we decided to start this process Monday morning. The plan is for him to be on site and we start the process of finding the problem. He has not been feeling well which has slowed the work. Wish us well please…..
The Trees Forever tree grant came to fruition on Saturday morning. I labeled each tree, according to our master tree plan, and drilled the holes late in the day on Friday and picked up the trees in preparation for planting the following morning. It worked out very nicely.
There was a small turnout of volunteers to help plant the 53 trees supplied with the grant. It went very smoothly and we were finished after about an hour and 45 minutes from start time. I would like to give a huge thank you to Delray for helping the golf secure the Trees Forever grant. It was a very nice addition to our beautiful golf course.
On Monday, we will be having another tree planting made possible through the Iowa DNR and Trees for Kids. There will be 50 more trees planted mid afternoon with support from middle school and high school students, along with adult volunteers.
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 